Beagle's about in Hollywood

He is not your average film star. He never complains about the director, is not going to develop a drink or drugs problem and is unlikely to run off with the leading lady. And while John Travolta recently ordered the complete room service menu of an upmarket New York hotel when he was unable to decide what to have for dinner, Amber, star of US box office comedy hit Cats and Dogs, knows what he wants - chocolate drops.

But then Amber is an English star, a pocket beagle from Archway, and less inclined to Hollywood excess. Nevertheless, his distinguished looks have earned him a place on the poster for the film and with movies such as Shrek and Tomb Raider increasingly dispensing with human actors, his future in film looks assured.

In Cats and Dogs he plays Lou, the young pup who stumbles unaware into a battle between felines and canines. The film combines real animals, puppetry and clever animatronics, and has amazed US audiences for the remarkable way animals appear to talk.

However it is not without a sniff of controversy: dogs are very much the heroes, while conniving cats, too clever by half, are the villains of the piece. Reviewers have complained the film is decidedly dog-centric.

It was mainly shot in Vancouver but the American producers wanted extra footage in Britain and appealed for beagles with acting ability. Filming took place over a few weeks at Shepperton studios.

Amber's owner Lindsey Leach said: "They treated Amber like a movie star. He was collected in a chauffeur driven limo and given his favourite chocolate drops when he was good.

"He was very well behaved on the set, did what he was asked to do, and everyone loved him."

London-based film special effects company The Mill, which won an Oscar for its work on Gladiator, contributed to the animatronics. David Lomax, computer graphics supervisor for the company, said: "Animal trainers would encourage the pets to react to lines in the film by giving them rewards, and we would do the rest, using animation, in the studio."

The plot tells how, unbeknown to their human companions, dogs have been fighting for thousands of years to keep mankind from falling under feline rule.

It features assassins, double agents, hi-tech gadgets and a "purrfect" plan by cats to take over the world.

When a megalomaniac moggie, Mr Tinkles, initiates a plan to strategically disable the world's dog population and leave humans defenceless, a crack team of canine agents, plus Lou, are all that stand between mankind and slavery.

Human stars include Jeff Goldblum, and Lou's voice belongs to Tobey Maguire, who will star as Spiderman in the new film due out next year.

The voice cast is packed with other big names, including Alec Baldwin, Susan Sarandon, and Charlton Heston as the Mastiff, a senior officer in Dog Command.